Abandoned Oakdale Asylum Water Treatment Plant, Lapeer

Back within the woods that house the Oakdale Trails in Lapeer are quite a few things any explorer might want to check out.

The old Oakdale Asylum for the Feeble-Minded was once on the property, as was the asylum cemetery. Actually, the cemetery is still there, located back in the woods off the trails. You will have to venture thru the woods to get to the cemetery but it is worth it. In fact, the trailhead has a map of sorts that shows you where this old graveyard is located.

There is a rumor that the old asylum tunnels are still hidden somewhere, but if someone knows the location, they have not yet come forward.

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Also hidden back in the woods off the trails is the old water treatment plant, abandoned and neglected. Not much to say about it, aside from it was part of the Oakdale Asylum complex, now reduced to uselessness, except for the exhilaration it gives explorers.

Oakdale Trails in Lapeer covers 9.5 miles that is meant for cyclists, hikers, and runners for most of the year. The South trails travel near the Oakdale Cemetery and former recreation area.  The North trails are adjacent to a middle school. The main trailhead includes a year ‘round toilet.

The Oakdale Regional Development Center (a/k/a  the Lapeer State Home for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic) closed its doors in 1991. The Oakdale complex once had over 120 buildings with over 4500 residents and patients. All that remains are a Community College, Middle School, Charter School, a couple of staff houses, and the previous-mentioned cemetery.

Every year, the Lapeer District Library hosts tours to the cemetery. Below is a gallery showing a satellite view of the cemetery and many photos of the abandoned water treatment plant.